Back Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio Danish MGM Cartoons Greek Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (estudio de animación) Spanish Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (studio d'animation) French MGM Cartoons Italian Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (studiya) UZ
 Studio's opening title card, c. 1939–1942 | |
| MGM Cartoons | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Animation Motion pictures |
| Predecessor | Harman-Ising Productions |
| Founded | August 23, 1937 |
| Founder | Fred Quimby |
| Defunct | May 15, 1957 |
| Fate | Closed |
| Successors | Studio: MGM Animation/Visual Arts Hanna-Barbera Library: Warner Bros. (through Turner Entertainment Co.) |
| Headquarters | Overland and Montana Avenue[1] [2] [3], , United States |
Key people | William Hanna Joseph Barbera Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising Tex Avery Fred Quimby Preston Blair Michael Lah |
| Products | Animated theatrical short films |
| Parent | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (also known simply as MGM Cartoons) was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to accompany MGM feature films in Loew's Theaters, which included popular cartoon characters Tom, Jerry, Droopy, Butch, Spike, Tyke, and Barney Bear.
Prior to forming its own cartoon studio, MGM released the work of independent animation producer Ub Iwerks, and later the Happy Harmonies series from Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising.[4] The MGM cartoon studio was founded to replace Harman and Ising, although both men eventually became employees of the studio.[5] After a slow start, the studio began to take off in 1940 after its short The Milky Way became the first non-Disney cartoon to win the Academy Award for Best Short Subjects: Cartoons.[6] The studio's roster of talent benefited from an exodus of animators from the Warner Bros. and Disney studios, who were facing issues with union workers.
Originally established and run by executive Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, became the heads of the studio in 1955 following Quimby's retirement. The cartoon studio was closed on May 15, 1957,[7] at which time Hanna and Barbera took much of the staff to form their own company, Hanna-Barbera Productions, then named H-B Enterprises.[8]
Turner Broadcasting System (via Turner Entertainment Co.) took over the library in 1986 after Ted Turner's short-lived ownership of MGM/UA. When Turner sold back the MGM/UA production unit, he kept the pre-May 1986 MGM library, including the MGM cartoons, for his own company. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros., which currently owns the rights to the pre-May 1986 MGM library via Turner Entertainment Co. and also owns the rights to much of Hanna-Barbera's library after Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation and replaced by Cartoon Network Studios in 2001 following the death of William Hanna.
- ^ Barrier, Michael. "A Day in the Life: MGM, March 4, 1953". Michaelbarrier.com. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "Judy Garland on the MGM Backlot". thejudyroom.com. Lot 2 map, "Filmways Building". Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "What's New Archives: December 2011". "Your Tour Guide, Bob Clampett", map of Los Angeles, circa 1969. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
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